Throughout history, the nations which dominated the seas, dominated the world. Nations continue to compete for maritime power. In this context, the significance of Afro-Asian connectivity through the Indian Ocean region has always remained pivotal to the maritime nations. Given its vast prospects and potential, it is always prone to conflict as well as cooperation between the world powers. In addition, with the launch of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the competition has further intensified between regional and international players. Following the Chinese investments in African region, other powers are also looking towards Africa. The predominantly ethnic Baloch seafarers and fisherfolk from the coastal belt of Balochistan and Sindh have, over the centuries, spread across the littoral regions of the Indian Ocean, particularly in Gujarat, South India, the Persian Gulf, as well as East Africa. They were the main force employed by the Omanis to re-emerge as a regional (Afro-Asian) and maritime power after the Portuguese colonization of Hormuz and control of the Indo-Pacific oceans in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries. This paper maps their transnational ethnic identity through the lens of a historical kaleidoscope. This connection is useful for exploring collective heritage and people-to-people connections and utilizing these connections to establish a connected future. The paper also highlights opportunities in public diplomacy and geoeconomic connectivity across the Afro-Asian region, especially the Gulf and East Africa, building upon the historic socioeconomic network, from coast to coast, of the transnational Baloch ethnicity with its roots and largest population base in Pakistan and Iran.
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